Egg container and method of operating the same



Filed July 22, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l S S mm H mw im N w M m WWW- U T N LRB H MMH 5 c II'IITIEII' I! I} I m mm.

ay 11, 1943. s, H, SMITH ETAL 2,319,091 EGG CONTAINER AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME Filed July 22, 1939 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 KAIF - I, mvam-oas f SAMUEL HAROLD SMH' H smsnsa KAY KALBER e cums muonsmm ATTORN EYS Patented May 11, 1943 EGG CONTAINER AND- METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME Samuel Harold Smith and Swisher Kay Kalber, Bucyrus, and Charles Milton Smith, La Grange, Ohio; said Kalber and said Charles Milton Smith assignors to said Samuel Harold Smith Application July 22, 1939, Serial No. 285,9...

6 Claims. (01. 11937) This invention relates to egg incubators, that is containers such as incubators in which eggs may be hatched. It relates more particularly to certain improvements in methods of and apparatus for obtaining and maintaining the desired air temperature, humidity and circulating conditions within such an incubator.

In the large, present day incubators it has previously'been proposed to construct the incubator in the form of a large room or chamber having a central corridor extending lengthwise of the chamber, a door at one end of the cor-.- ridor to provide access into the incubator, columns of egg trays disposed on either side of the central corridor and supported in such a manner that they may be tilted at intervals during incubation, horizontal hatching racks disposed on either side of the corridor below the tilting trays, and curtains extending lengthwise of the corridor on either side thereof for shutting ofi the corridor from the tilting trays in order to facilitate the proper air circulation and atmospheric control. In previous incubators provision has been made for controlling the temperature and humidity of the air by various means and the present invention relates broadly to improvements in air conditioning and controlling of incubators or other relatively large chambers or housings of the general type above described.

It is, of course, understood that'duringthe in cubation of eggs the temperature and humidity conditions must be maintained within very close limits and must be varied at certain times during the incubation period. At some stages during the operation of the incubator it is necessary to add heat from an external source, while at other times, due to the heat given off by the eggs, it is necessary to cool the air circulating through the incubator in order to prevent the temperature from going too high. Furthermore, during all stages of incubation, except the hatching period, the humidity should be maintained at a certain predetermined value while during hatching the humidity should be raised to a higher value.

It is among the objects of our invention to provide an improved method of and apparatus for controlling the air conditions within a housing, such as an incubator or the like, which is simple, economical'to operate, and provides a Very flexible and efiective temperature and humidity control while maintaining an even circulation of air of the same temperature and humidity throughout all parts of the incubator. Other objects of our invention include: the provision of means for conditioning a, certain predetermined proportion of the air circulating in the incubatorand returning the conditioned air to the circulating system; the provision of an air conditioning system for incubators or the like which is compact, simple in construction and arrangement of its elements, and adapted to heat or cool, or increase or decrease the relative humidity of air passing therethrough; the provision of a method and apparatus for maintaining proper temperature conditions throughout an incubator regardless of variations in humidity within the incubator; and the provision of an air conditioning unit which, in addition to its other functions, is adapted to remove entrained down, etc. from the air passing therethrough.

The above and other objects of our invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal cross-sectional view through an incubator embodying our improvements, the section being taken substantially on line l| of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse cross-sectional view of the-same incubator, taken substantially on line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a more or less diagrammatic horizontal cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1 and illustrating the air circulating fans, manifolds, ducts, etc.

Figure 4 is a'diagrammatic layout of the electrical connections between the thermostat which is responsive to the wet bulb temperatures and the motor which drives the fan and controls the fiow of air through the humidifying conduit.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing means for controlling the heating coils.

The incubator housing I0 is provided with heavy insulated walls and is generally of elongated, rectangular shape. A door II is located at one end of the incubator and opens into the central corridor I2 which extends the entire length of the housing Ill. Above the corridor l2 and extending the length of the housing In is 'a pair of beams l4 and I5, suitably secured to the end walls of the housing l0. Tiers of 'tiltable egg trays [6 are suspended from the side walls of the housing l0 and the beams l4 and l 5 by means of vertical bars l3 which are adapted to beshifted vertically to tilt the trays in well known manner. These trays [6 are disposed in columns along both sides of the central corridor I2, and air spaces l1 (see Fig.2) are provided above each bank of trays.

Horizontally arranged hatching racks IB are located below each bank of trays I6 and the removable down-catching screens I9 extend from the corridor I2 between the hatching racks I8 and the tilting trays I6. Slidable curtains 26, of cloth or other suitable material, normally cover the sides of the corridor I2 and extend from a point adjacent the top layer of trays I6 down substantially to the down-catching screens I9. During loading of the trays and removing of the chicks these curtains can he slid back out of the way, as indicated in Figure l.

The ceiling of the corridor I2 comprises a fan panel 22 which extends across the top of the corridor and is secured to the beams I4 and I5. This panel is provided with spaced, screened, fan openings 23 above which are mounted the electrically driven fans 24a, 24b, 24c, and 24d (see Fig. 3). In order to assist in obtaining the proper circulation, the blades of these fans are located as closely as possible to the screens covering the fan openings 23.

The fan panel 22 also separates the corridor I2 from the top of the housing Ill forming an air space which is referred to at 21 on Figure l of the drawings. This air space 21 is connected to each of the side spaces or chambers I! through the somewhat restricted, elongated passages 25 and 26, which are defined by the roof of the housing I and the beams I4 and I5.

An air conditioning cabinet, generally indicated at 30, is located at the end of the corridor 12 opposite the door II. This cabinet is disposed largely outside of the housing I0, as shown in Figure l, and access thereto may be had from the corridor I2 through a removable door or panel 3 I. Air from the corridor I2 may enter the cabinet 30 through louvres 32 (which may be closed when the apparatus is used for storage purposes) disposed in an opening located just below the door or panel 3| and extending across the width of the cabinet 30. Part of the air that enters through the louvres 32 passes through a pipe elbow 32a which directs it upwardly through the cabinet toward the top outlet opening 33 which is disposed in the uppermost portion of the air conditioning cabinet 36 and directs air into a manifold 53 located in the housin I0 above the fan panel 22.

The side walls of the cabinet 30, which protrude outside of the housing II], are covered to a large extent by the exhaust ducts 35 (see Figs. 2 and 3) which extend from the bottom of the louvres 32 to a point slightly below the outlet 33. Outlet ports 39 are provided at the top of each of the exhaust ducts 35. The rear wall of the cabinet 30 is covered to a considerable extent by the air inlet duct 35 which extends from approximately the level of the bottom of the louvres 32 to the top of the outlet ducts 35. The upper portion of the cabinet 39, which is not protected by the inlet and outlet ducts, is covered by suitable insulating material 31.

Air which is to be removed from the system passes out through the exhaust ports 38 in the sides of the cabinet 30 and the ducts 35 and is discharged into the atmosphere through the outlet ports 39. Fresh outside air may enter the bottom opening 40 in the inlet duct 36 and is admitted to the cabinet 30 through the inlet port 4| which is provided with an adjustable damper 42 to control the amount of fresh air admitted to the incubator.

The cabinet 39 houses the various air conditioning elements. These include the electrical heating coils 43, a water cooling coil 44, a warm water spray nozzle 45 and the cold water spray jets 46. All of these air conditioning elements are connected to suitable sources of water or electrical current (not shown). The cold water sprays 46 are disposed just above the cooling coil 44 while the warm water humidifier spray 45 is disposed below the cooling coil 44 in the outlet of the elbow 32a.

In the preferred embodiment of our invention, which is illustrated in the drawings, the warm water spray jet 45 and the cold water spray jets 46 are each connected to a common source of sup ply of cold water. Spray jets 46 are supplied directly through the valve 41 but the water discharged through the jet 45 passes through a valve 48 and a pre-heating coil 49 located in the upper portion of the cabinet 30. Thus, the jet 45 is supplied with water which has been heated to a certain extent by the air which passes around the coil 49. Any excess of water which may collect in the bottom of the air conditioning cabinet is conducted by pipes 36a and 36b, which extend from the elbow 32a and the bottom of the chamber 36 respectively, to the drain 50.

The air outlet 33 from the cabinet 30, as noted above, opens into a transverse manifold 53, located above the end portion of the fan panel 22. Air distributing ducts 54 and 55 extend from the opposite ends of the manifold 53 (see Fig. 3). These ducts are provided with openings 60a, 60b, 60c, and 6301 in duct 54 and em, 6lb, tile and Girl in duct 55, which are located adjacent the fans 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d. The ducts 54 and 55 are supported by the beams I4 and extend parallel thereto, and, as illustrated, are of rectangular cross-section. The air outlet openings in the ducts 54 and 55 are so proportioned in size that a substantially equal amount of heat units will be supplied to or removed from the air passing through each of the fans 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d. If desired adjustable slides or dampers may be provided or the openings may merely be cut to the proper size. In the drawings no dampers are shown but they form a modification within the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

As may be seen in Figure 2, the normal flow of air in the incubator is from the fans 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d, downwardly to the floor of the corridor I2 and then laterally into the side sections and upwardly through the racks I3 and the trays I6 to the chambers IT. From the chambers I! the air passes through the openings 25 and 26 into the space 21 Where it is again picked up by the fans and recirculated through the incubator. Due to the resistance of the tiers of the trays I6 and the restricted passages 25 and 26, the air in the incubator, particularly in the lower portion of the corridor- I2 and in the egg trays, is normally at a higher pressure than the air in the central chamber 21. In the absence of any means to prevent such an occurrence, the continuous circulation of the air by the fans 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d may tend to cause a stratification and the temperature of the air at one cross-sectional portion of the incubator may be different from that at another clue to differences in the amount of heat and/or moisture absorbed by or given off from the eggs. The resulting hot spots or cold spots are distinctly disadvantageous to successful incubator operation.

As noted above, the pressure in the corridor I2 is. g e t hat in h ham er 21. and by providing the large opening through the louvres 32, a natural flow of air occurs through the cabinet 30 entering the louvres and passing out through the outlet 33 into the distributing ducts. This natural flow of air causes a recirculation and redistribution of air longitudinally in the ma chine which distributes the moisture and controls .thetemperature' from one end of the housing to the other, keeping it uniform throughout. It will be noted that' the louvres 32 are materially larger than'the opening of the elbow 32a. A fan 62, which .is preferably driven by an electric motor, is disposed in the elbow 32a adjacent the louvres 32. This fan is of the type having overlapping blades which, when the fan is stopped, causes agmaterial restriction to the flow of air through the elbow passage. When the fan is stopped there will still be a circulation through the cabinet 30 as air will enter the louvres 32 around the elbow 32a and fan 62. This air, going around the elbow, is used to level off the temperature and recirculat'e air through the cabinet 30, thus adding or subtracting heat from the housing It) as needed.

The second function of the cabinet 3!) is to control the humidity of the air in the'housing ID. The spray nozzle 45 operates continuously and discharges a mist or spray of water into the outlet. end'of the elbow 32a at all times. This spray is substantially at the wet bulb temperature of the air in the housing I!) because it passes through the coil 49 located in'the path of air leaving the cabinet 30. If the fan 62 is stopped there will be only a relatively slow movement of air through the elbow 32a and not enough air will move through the elbow to evaporate all of the fog or mistproduced by the nozzle 45. Under these conditions there will be created a deficiency in moisture within the incubator itself due to the addition of fresh air through the duct 36 and the fact that not enough moisture is added to the air circulated through the cabinet 30 to maintain the humidity. When the humidity within the housing becomes too low the mist or spray in the elbow 32a evaporates rapidly, which cools and saturates theair-near thermostat 63 and causes the thrrnostat'63to start the fan motor 62 and draw airinto elbow-32a. These connections are diagrammatically illustrated 'in Figure 4 and include" a needle or finger a which is moved by a spiral thermostatic element 63. The needle a is connected to one side I) of the line current and the contact 0 is adapted to engage another contact d when the wet bulb temperature indicated by the thermostat 63 falls to a-predetermined value due to a reduction in the humidity of air from-the housing l0. Making this contact completes the circuit through the relay coil eto the side 1 of-the'supply line and energization of the relay coil e closes the normally open switch 9 completing the circuit to the motor of the fan 62, as isclearly seen in Figure 4. It will be understood that the Irelay coil and switch e and g are diagrammatically illustrated and that they may assume any form found suitable and desirable. Such relays are well known inthe art and form no part I of the present invention. As the fan starts a draft of air flows through the elbow 32a, creating a fast current of air past the spray nozzle 45 which evaporates the mist from the noz- 'zle' and passes on into the housing I 0 through the outlet 33 and the distributing ducts. When the fan is operating moisture is added to the housing H1 at: a greater rate than when the fan is not operating. This added moist air causes the humidity and wet bulb temperature within the incubator III to increase and thus air which is being drawn into the elbow 32a will increase in humidity and wet bulb temperature accordingly. As the humidity increases in the housing 10 the evaporation in the elbow 32a decreases, the air near thermostat 63 becomes warmer and the thermostat 63 is actuated to cause the fan motor 62 to stop, the blades restrict but do not completely stop the passage of air through the elbow 32a, and the humidity is permitted to fall until it again becomes too low when the above described cycle is repeated.

Air will pass through the louvres 32 around the elbow 32a both when the fan is running and when it is stopped. However, when the fan is running, the volume of air passing through the louvres and the cabinet outside of the elbow will be relatively less than when the fan is shut off and in this way the humidity in the housing It) may be raised and lowered in accordance with the automatic control established by the thermostat 63 and thespray 45.

The spray 45 is directed downwardly into the elbow 32a and countercurrent to the air passing through the elbow. This spray produces a mist or fog which evaporates into the air passing through the elbow and it has been determined that this air assumes the wet bulb temperature in the same manner as though a thermometer were suspended in this air stream with a moist wicking surrounding the bulb. Therefore, the thermostatic element 63, which is suspended in the air stream at about the top of the elbow, is at all times located in the air which is passing through the fog or mist and will assume the same temperature as a wet bulb hygrometer. This thermostat 63 is connected by suitable electrical connections (see Fig. 4) to start and stop the fan 62. Thus, by means of the spray nozzle 45, the elbow 32a, the fan 62 and the thermostatic element 63, we have provided an automatic humidity control which, in one position of the thermostat will. tendv to produce a deficienc of moisture in the housing In and in another position of the thermostat, i. e., the on position with the fan running, will tend to produce an excess of moisture in the housing l9.

From the above it will be observed that a certion proportion of the air circulated within the incubator may be withdrawn through the louvres 32, subjected to air conditioning in the cabinet 30, and reintroduced into the circulating air. Incident to the air conditioning, a certain pro.- portion of the air may be permitted to escape through the outlet ducts 35 and a certain amount of new air may be admitted through the inlet duct 36. The withdrawing of the air for conditioning purposes and reintroduction of the conditioned air into the space 21 above the fans 24 causes turbulence and disturbance in the normal circulation of air in the incubator thus preventing stratification and insuring uniform temperature and humidity conditions throughout. The withdrawal of'air through the louvres 32 and recirculation thereof through the duct system sets up a transverse movement of air through the cabinet creating a condition which breaks up the tendency toward Stratification.

It will be understood that suitable temperature and-humidity indicating instruments may be located where they can be observed by the operator. The heating coils 43 are conveniently automatically controlled from a thermostat located within the housing I0. Any suitable thermostat may be used for this purpose including the there. mometer controller made by the Bristol Company of Waterbury, Conn., and illustrated in Figs, 1 and 2 and somewhat diagrammatically in Fig. 5. There the spirally wound tube I which extends lengthwise of the incubator in one air space I! communicates thru a capillary tube IOI with a spiral tube I02 which carries an indicator I03 which can complete an electrical circuit either by engaging contacts I04 or I05 thru a relay I01 which opens and closes a switch to connect a source of electricity (not shown) with leads I08 connected to heating coils 43. The indicator and tube I02 are positioned outside of the incubator in housing I06. Expansion or contraction of liquid in coil I00 causes movement of indicator I03 toward contacts I04 or I05. When the liquid contracts due to decrease in temperature of the air about tube I00, the indicator I03 moves to complete a circuit thru one of its contacts and thereby connects the heating coils 43 with a source of current. When the'liquid in tube I00 expands the indicator I03 is shifted to engage with the other contact, thereby opening the circuit thru which current is supplied to coils 43. The spray nozzles 46 may be manually controlled to provide additional cooling when necessary. By proper regulation of the amount of new air which is admitted through the duct 36, along with the other temperature and humidity control elements, conditions within the entire incubator can be accurately and easily maintained at the proper values. By withdrawing and conditioning a certain percentage of the air circulated within the incubator and then re-distributing this conditioned air evenly throughout the entire incubator, a control efiiciency is obtained which has not previously been possible.

In addition to the temperature and humidity conditioning functions of the cabinet 30, the water sprays 45 and 46 are available to remove entrained down from the circulating air and tend to eliminate carbon dioxide from the air by absorption thereof by the water sprays. Because the fresh air inlet duct 36 and the outlet ducts 35 are disposed on the outer walls of the cabinet 30 an efiective heat exchange and insulating result is obtained.

In certain instances it has been found desirable to utilize the above described egg container for cold storage purposes during the off-season when eggs are not being hatched. Our present container or incubator is particularly well adapted to this use and we have provided a series of cooling coils 64 located in a compartment 65 disposed just below the cabinet 30. During the normal operation of the incubator this cornpartment 65 is closed off from the cabinet 30 by a removable panel 66. Another removable panel 61 is adapted to close an inlet opening 68 in front of the fan 69. Ordinarily, when the incubator is operating, the panels 66 and 61 are in position and the cooling apparatus of the compartment 65 is inoperative. However, when it is desired to cool the entire incubator to a degree not possible by means of the cooling equipment of the cabinet 30, the panels 66 and 61 are removed, the coil 64 connected to any suitable refrigeration machine (not shown) and a coolant circulated therethrough, and fan 69 started in operation. Air will thus be withdrawn from the bottom of the corridor I2, forced over the cooling pipes 64 and discharged upwardly-through the cabinet '30.

The cooled air will be distributed through the header 53 and ducts 54 and 55. If desired the fans 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d, or part of them, may be operated .to assist in the circulation of air through the structure. The ,louvres 3. are preferably closed during cold stora e operation. of the housing so that all of the air from the fan 65 wil ass throug t e cabinet 30. to t e p r di tr duc s 5 54, .5..etc- By comb nin h aux a y ool n equipment h used in h compartment 65 with the main air conditioning cabinet 30 and the distributing means for circu-v lating air from the cabinet, a very efficient coolns s em is ta ne Although we have described the illustrated em o m of u invention n on idera e del. it l be un s eod by those skil d in t e a th erou a a ion and modificat ons may b m in th ced re and ap a tus outlined herein without departing from t e Spirit of our invention. We do not, therefore, wish to e i ed o th pa t p oc dure amid vices shown herein but claim a ear inv ntion a forms thereof coming within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An incubator comprising an elongated housins. ie s of e t s dis se a on e s of the interior of said housing and defining a central corridor, a plurality of aligned fans located above said central corridor to propel air downwardly in said corridor, a pair oi ducts disposed along both sides of said aligned fans and having openings therein adjacent the inlet side of each of said fans and above said corridor, an air conditioning cabinet located at one end of said corridor and having an opening therein whereby air in said corridor may enter said air conditioning cabinet, said cabinet having an inlet for fresh air and an outlet for exhaust air, and a manifold leading from said air conditioning cabinet to said pair of ducts.

2. In an incubator, a housing, tiers of egg trays therein defining a corridor, a plurality of aligned air circulating means located above said corridor to propel air downwardly insaid cori e a pair o dja en a d tribu ing duets located on opposite sides of and adjacent to said a i n ai u at means, an ai co i n ing cabinet, at one end of said corridor air com ditioning means within said cabinet, and-means whereby air may be withdrawn longitudinally from said corridor at one end thereof into said cabinet and then returned to said airdistributing ducts, said ducts having outlet openings adjacent to said air circulating means to deliver conditioned air into circulating air descending into said corridor.

3- I apparatus f the t pe descr be at 1 0 ing, means for circulating air in said housing, me ns f Withdrawing and cond t on a smal portion of such circulating air including an air conducting conduit having an inlet an outlet, said inlet being connected to receive air from said usi a en acent the nlet to said n ans for i in aid means f continuously spraying water in iinely divided condition into said conduit, a thermostat supported in said spray, said thermostat being connected to control said ian driving means and being responsive to the temperature of the air in the conduit whereby an increaseofsaid temperature above a re et m n d a ue w ll stQP sa d a dec se o sa tem erature he e er edetermined-value will start said 'fan, means of returning the withdrawn air to said housing, and means for maintaining the air being withdrawn from the housing at a substantially constant dry bulb temperature which is higher than the temperature of the air about said thermometer, said means for circulating air in said housing serving, when said fan is not in operation, to create a flow of air thru said air conducting conduit.

4. In an incubator, the combination of a housing, means for circulating air in the housing, means for withdrawing air from said housing in a direction transverse to the direction of circulation of air in the housing, means for continuously discharging a spray of water into said withdrawn air, a thermostat disposed in the zone of said spray and in the path of said withdrawn air, and means, responsive to said thermostat, for varying the quantity of air withdrawn from said housing whereby, when the relative humidity of the air in the housing falls below a predetermined value, the quantity of air withdrawn from the housing will be increased and such increase maintained until the relative humidity of the air in the housing is raised to a predetermined value whereupon the quantity of air withdrawn from the housing will again be reduced, means for maintaining the air being Withdrawn from the housing at a substantially constant dry bulb temperature, higher than the temperature of the air about the said thermostat, and means for returning the withdrawn air to the housing.

6. The method of circulating and conditioning air in an incubator having a central aisle and egg compartments on opposite sides thereof which includes the steps of circulating the ma jority of the air within the incubator in two closed loop paths which are substantially coextensive in axial length with the interior length of the incubator, said -circulating air moving down thru the aisle to its lower portion, then moving in opposite directions into the lower parts of said egg compartments, then up thru the latter and then toward each other and into the top of said aisle, withdrawing air from the lower part of said aisle at one end thereof, conditioning it, returning it to the interior of said paths, introducing it at a plurality of places along said aisle near its upper end into air moving downwardly in said aisle and thoroughly mixing it with circulating air in the aisle before such air enters the lower portions of said egg compartments.

CHARLES MILTON SMITH. SWISHER KAY KALBER. SAMUEL HAROLD SMITH.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No, 2, 19,091. May 11, 191 5,

SAMUEL HAROLD SMITH, ET AL,

It is hereby certified that error appears in the pri hted specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, second column, line h, claim L after the word and period "housing.,' insert the following as claim 5 5, The method of circulating air in an incubator having a central aisle and egg compartments on opposite sides thereof which includes the steps of circulating the majority of the air within the incubator in closed loops whose axes extend horizontally thruout substantially the i e t rior length of the incubator, said loops extending downwardly in said aisle laterally and then upwardly thru said egg compartments and laterally to above the aisle, withdrawing small amounts of the air from one end of said aisle, conditioning it, returning it to the interior of said loops and mixing it at aplurality of places along said loops with the circulating air descending in said aisle.

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office,

Signed and sealed this 5rd day of October, Aa D. 19bit.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

